Netanyahu Pushing White House for Pollard's Release

Prime Minister reveals 'not a conversation goes by' without him asking for the Israeli agent's freedom.

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Tova Dvorin, 09/03/14 08:06

Jonathan Pollard

Yehuda Glick

The ongoing push to free Jonathan Pollard from his US prison sentence is still active in Washington, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu revealed Saturday night.

"Pollard does not need to be in the hospital nor in a prison - he needs to be released." Netanyahu stated to Channel 10. Pollard has been hospitalized since last week, heightening concerns that the Israeli agent will not live to see his release. "He has paid his price...Israel was wrong to send him."

"There isn't a single conversation in the White House that goes by without bringing [Pollard] up," Netanyahu continued. "I hope that we can finally succeed to bring him home."

Jonathan Pollard has recently been subject of a high-profile campaign for his release. He is now in his 29th year of incarceration in a US jail for passing classified security-related information from America to Israel. He was arrested by FBI agents in 1985 and held ever since.

Calls for his release escalated since it was revealed last month that the US and UK have been spying on top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Pollard was arrested on charges far less serious, critics noted, and slammed the Obama administration for "hypocrisy."